ALABAMA | RICKEY STOKES NEWS
Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded a $598,000 grant to the Alabama Department of Corrections to expand substance abuse treatment programs inside state prisons.
The funding will support Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) programs at eight correctional facilities across Alabama. The initiative includes a six-month intensive treatment phase designed to address addiction, followed by at least 12 months of continued group counseling focused on long-term behavioral change.
“Inmates who have overcome their drug dependency are much less likely to commit additional crimes upon release,” Ivey said. “These programs can help inmates take the steps needed to turn their lives around and make our communities safer.”
The grant is being administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) using funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.
ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said the program benefits both incarcerated individuals and the communities they will eventually return to.
“Substance abuse treatment programs benefit both the incarcerated individuals themselves and the communities they will return to when they are released,” Boswell said. “I am pleased to join Gov. Ivey in support of this program to help prisoners become drug-free.”
ADECA oversees a variety of statewide programs, including initiatives supporting law enforcement, victim services, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.
